About Graham Clarkson

Born & brought up in Marshside, I started birding there in the mid 1970s & made my first birding trip to Martin Mere in 1977. I've lived, worked & birdied in Abu Dhabi, Northern Ireland & Gloucestershire & I've spent time working in Kazakhstan & Madagascar. I enjoy birding my various West Lancashire patches, making frequent birding visits throughout the north-west of England and North Wales. I stray elsewhere in the UK & enjoy birding abroad from time to time. I'm particularly interested in wildfowl (especially pink-footed geese) with an interest in waders & raptors, bird counts & surveys & conservation. I'm trying to get the hang of photography & digiscoping - I'll get there eventually.

My degree from Edge Hill University is in conservation biology. I've guided on numerous birding days out & trips & guided birding holidays to Lesvos, Andalucia, Extremedura, Majorca, Camargue, Hungary, Finland & Florida. I enjoy showing people birds & habitats & helping them learn more about birds & enjoy birding. I'm currently involved with the Birdwatching and Beyond course at Edge Hill and a brand new venture; Skein Birding.

As well as birding I'm interested in captive breeding & reintroduction projects & zoos, how they're managed & how they contribute to conservation. I'm a proud Lancastrian & love the Lancashire countryside & landscapes. I'm an Evertonian & also keep up with what's happening at Southport, PNE & Bristol Rovers. Gardening, dogs (I have a Labrador & a Tibetan Terrier) and keeping chickens (especially Marsh Daisys & Scots Dumpy Bantams). Ruth & I have two marvellous boys who both love nature too. I hope you find the blog and subjects covered interesting; please feel free to leave a comment.

Sunday, 6 January 2013

Sunday surveys

Today was set aside for completing some squares for the BTO winter thrush survey. Playful Pete text saying he was on his way to Burscough and did I want to go birding, as far as I was concerned that was a clear offer of help. So, off we trotted to the first square; Warper's Moss, just round the corner from home. It was a tad misty but at least we managed to pick up all five species of winter thrush, a female Sparrowhawk, two Reed Buntings, four Yellowhammers, 39 Whooper Swans and four Mute Swans; slim pickings, but a reasonable start. The second square was up in Mawdesley, again all five thrush species with the addition of six Tree Sparrow, two Bullfinches and some flyover Pink-feet. The final square was between Hoscar Moss and Low Meadows; very few thrushes, the avian highlights being four more Yellowhammers and 121 Pink-feet. I still have a square to do but that'll have to wait until tomorrow; I'm still off then and so is Jacob, he can come and help me.
Playful and I drove down Meadow Lane looking for Corn Buntings and found a flock of eleven perched on the top of a sycamore at the back of one of the farms. I'm a bit worried about my local Corn Buntings, they just haven't been in the usual flocks this winter; maybe it's because there lots of food available (unharvested cereals) and it's mild? Further down Meadow Lane, on the edge of the Low Meadows flood, a large mixed flock of Lapwings and Black-headed Gulls was busily feeding and drew our attention, 27 Ruff were feeding amongst the flock - the highest count I've had here.
A quick tootle down Curlew Lane revealed a large feeding flock of Whoopers and Pink-feet that we had a quick look through, but we both needed a brew and Playful had a train to catch. After a brew and walking the dog I headed back to Curlew Lane alone and looked through and counted the birds there; 2800 Pink-feet; 315 Whooper Swans; two Bewick's Swans; a Mute Swan and a Black Swan. Three year ticks suddenly appeared out of the mist; John Aitchison; Jason Stannage and finally Frank Whitney, all of whom enjoyed the wildfowl spectacle. Frank and I enjoyed a Barn Owl and Sparrowhawk and noted a flock of Ruff heading towards Martin Mere. Another decent day in the field.